Ustream, I stream, we all…well, you get it

First of all an apology to the readers coming back and seeing nothing but twitter updates. With my Japanese class beginning 8th of Feb, I’ve been studying even more in earnest (and not just in my insomniac hours!) and staying up to date with my ever-increasing news reader. Speaking of which – *ahem* – “How do you solve a problem like Ozawa? How do you hold several million yen in your haaand?” Oh, will the scandals never cease.

Anyway, my travels on Twitter took me to Jason Gray’s (@jgtokyo) new live broadcasts on Ustream and from there I did a quick search for similar videos. It’s not easy for a newbie like me to navigate, but I happened upon xojapan’s stream. It’s done by an adorable duo who want to bring Japanese culture and perspective to the rest of the world, from a native point of view. The vivacious Kaoru’s personality alternates pretty seamlessly between speaking Japanese and English. Mr. Idee is the quiet man behind the concept who represents the non-English speaking Japanese person who still wants to communicate his culture to the outside world. I haven’t come across many of his kind so far: generally, the blogs that I can read (as my Japanese is still that of a 1 year-old) are by foreigners fluent in Japanese. The live translation between Kaoru and Mr. Idee is much more personal and friendly than those you see at international film premiers and such, so the pilot video was a very interesting.

For other newbies to Japanese out there, check this episode out for some excellent ‘Real Japanese’ vocab and grammar tips, as well as real-time translation with a genuinely compatible translator and speaker. There promises to be many more topics covered like fashion, otaku, trends, etc.